"The 33"-Road Bike RacingWe set this forum up for our members to discuss their experiences in either pro or amateur racing, whether they are the big races, or even the small backyard races. Don't forget to update all the members with your own race results.

Last week was all sorts of sucky :/ First I hit a massive pothole on Monday which caused a flat...that I could deal with.

Wednesday heading home from my parents house I was cruising along at Z2/Z3 going about 20mph and next thing I hear is brake squeal...I instantly thought, "should I swerve in the other lane" but then decided to stay in the lane in case the guy swerved in the other lane to avoid me. About half a second later I am on top of this guys hood, then back upright and sliding forward, then I am near the curb and I put my hand out to brace myself as I crash. Walked away with minor scratches and a super sore wrist as far as I can tell, could of been worse I guess. Still sore all around so going to my doc to make sure nothing else serious is going down.

Bike is completely TKO. The front fork is cracked and the rear chainstays are kaput.

I guess I'm lucky...wish this didn't happen and people would stop texting and driving. Hopefully I'm on the bike soon.

Get a lawyer; don't talk to their insurance directly if you haven't already.

got one and haven't talked to the insurance yet but it initially what I'm hearing is that the guy that hit me feels bad and admitted he rear ended me and didn't try to make up any wild stories. Got a police report and ambulance too with a witness. The witness was going in the other direction and he said he saw my bright headlight/tailight from the other side of the road cause I was lighting up the whole street! Ugh, guess no matter what you do sometimes you can't prevent these things, just help mitigate them.

Not much you can do about being hit from the back. I've been hit a few times from drivers making turns directly into me. First time was a kid on campus driving his mom's car, begged me not to file or cal insurance. I did cuz the bike was totaled and I had a minor sprain. Insurance was willing happy to pay whatever I told them basically in return for me closing the case (they are afraid of extra medical bills). I was fine, and happy to get $1000 for my $150 craigslist bike.

Last time the guy was desperate to not go to insurance, and since I was totally unscathed I let him pay me $1000 for repairs.

That sucks ovoleg, glad it wasn't much worse and echo others fears of that happening to me. Not much you can do to prevent people from not paying attention...

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"On the other hand riding down a hill at 55 MPH wearing (essentially) women's underwear and a Styrofoam cup on your head is the epitome of rational life-extending decisions." - RacerEx

got one and haven't talked to the insurance yet but it initially what I'm hearing is that the guy that hit me feels bad and admitted he rear ended me and didn't try to make up any wild stories. Got a police report and ambulance too with a witness. The witness was going in the other direction and he said he saw my bright headlight/tailight from the other side of the road cause I was lighting up the whole street! Ugh, guess no matter what you do sometimes you can't prevent these things, just help mitigate them.

I always tell concerned friends about some study I read where randomly getting hit from behind is the #1 fear of all cyclists but is statistically rare. The actual #1 cause of accidents is cyclists taking some action based on the incorrect assumption that drivers see them. Who knows if that study was meaningful or not, but it's just awful to hear about somebody getting hit from behind. I hope there's no serious physical damage.

The more I ride, the more nervous I get with cars blasting past me. I've got a super bright rear light and a couple of front lights, but it doesn't matter. If someone isn't paying attention, they aren't paying attention. I try to select roads that have a generous shoulder and are frequently used by cyclists, but I still get the occasional bout of trepdiation when I hear a car roaring up behind me.

thanks guys. Just recovering now and really thankful it wasn't worse. A friend of mine in SoCal was killed a few years back doing some rando ride and some drunk driver rear ended him :/ Scary stuff but it won't stop me from riding, that's when I think we've really lost.